Jimmy F'n Page!! What was said in the car?

It's been a few years since I posted anything in this blog but the time has come to return with another story.  Coincidentally, my previous post was about an encounter with Jeff Beck. This story is about one of his best friends and co-conspirators in the Yardbirds - Jimmy Page.

Jimmy came to Toronto last week to play selected tracks from the remaining Led Zeppelins re-issues he's been working on for the past few years.  Between interviews and at dinner we had a chance to chat and, I'm glad to report, he's a fantastic and engaging person equally interested in the people he is talking to as we are in talking to him.  He had fantastic tales to tell with remarkable recall of being a teenager discovering great blues records at house parties attended by the likes of a young Keith Richards and Mick Jaggar among others.  Of course we talk guitars and he shared a number of great Zeppelin stories too.

If you read my Jeff beck piece you'll recall me telling Jeff that watching him smash his guitar in the film Blow Up was my inspiration to picking up the instrument.  I told Jimmy the same  and he told me a great story about the audience member who was to grab the guitar pieces up off the floor and how he'd get the shit kicked out of him during every take, coming up with his glasses askew.

It was impossible for me to not geek out and ask some questions that only he could answer.  The burning question I had was "Where does the inspiration come from?  What was the spark that led to the riff?"  When I asked specifically about "The Ocean" he would only acknowledge that the riff had unusual notes but would give me no more. I thought better than to push so I left it alone - until the next day.

At the end of his CBC interview he told them to play "Achilles Last Stand" because Zeppelin was known for long songs and this was the longest (he said that with a chuckle).  Back in the car I decided to try again and asked about the opening notes of the song.

"It's an unusual sequence of notes," I said.

"Yes, it is," was his brief reply.

""So, where does that come from?  Are you just noodling around and the note just show up?"

He turned to me and with a stern voice and arched brow said "Well, maybe, calculated noodling."

That was it.  I was shut down.  "Okay.  I have nothing else.  I am an empty vessel. I will shut up now."  But after a few seconds of silence he turned around and put his elbow on the seat back.

"They are Flamenco chords," he said.

"What?"

"They are Flamenco chords where the notes are plucked appegio as opposed to playing the chord."

That satisfied my curiosity.  Jimmy Page wrote songs.  He didn't wait for magical inspiration.

Later that night, during the playback to the music, I sat in the back of the room two seats over from Jimmy.  I watched him as he listened and seemed to relive the recording of each song.  When it got to "Achilles Last Stand" I started playing air guitar and air drums cause you just can't not.  Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Jimmy going the same.  We both kept going and going because - well, you just can't not.  And, when the song finally ended the audience in the room erupted and Jimmy and I high-fived one another!  Holy shit, I can't believe it either!

Jimmy Fuckin' Page!